


The understudy

by Rowboat129



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, High School AU, M/M, Newsies - Freeform, Theater AU, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2019-10-22 02:25:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17654264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowboat129/pseuds/Rowboat129
Summary: Garrison high is putting on Newsies for the school musical. As usual, Lance is put in the lead role of Jack Kelly. But what happens when the lead role breaks his leg and you don’t have an understudy? You put in a crew member who can sing. That crew member just happens to be Keith. What will happen when Keith has to fill in the role that was left by Lance, actor extraordinaire and Keith’s personal crush?





	1. The Castlist

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I’ve wanted to write a Klance story for a while, and I also love theater, so I thought, why not combine the two. So, here it goes.

Lance glanced at the clock. The cast list should be up by now. Why couldn’t this class just be over already? As if on cue, the bell rang. Lance rushed through the halls to the theater room.

 

This year, Garrison High was putting on Newsies. Ever since Lance had seen the show, Jack Kelly had been one of his dream roles.

 

When he arrived, there was already a small crowd of people around the door looking at the cast list. Lance pushed his way through the crowd.

 

Jack Kelly...........Lance McLain

Crutchie.............Nyma Young

Davie.................Matt Holt

Les....................Katie Holt

Katherine...........Allura Altea

Pulitzer..............Lotor Dibozol

 

Lance stopped reading after Pulitzer. He was so excited. He had gotten his dream role or one of them anyways. Though he dreaded working with Lotor, he was excited to see Allura and Pidge on the cast list. He was especially excited to see Pidge since they usually did tech. It was also painfully obvious that not enough boys had auditioned since Crutchie and most of the Newsies were girls. He was excited to talk more about it with his friends at lunch.

 

**Meanwhile, on the football bleachers**

 

Hunk and Keith ate lunch on the bleachers as they talked about random things like if it hurt more to give birth or get kicked in the balls. Eventually, the conversation came to the show.

 

”Are you gonna crew again?” Hunk asked.

 

”Yeah. I’m gonna work backstage. Sets and stuff. You’re doing lights or something, right?” Keith responded.

 

“Operating the soundboard with Shay,” Hunk said. “Rolo’s doing lights.” Then, Pidge joined the two on the bleachers.

 

”Sup’ losers,” they said as they sat down.

 

“Hey Pidge,” Hunk said. “Hey, did you get cast?”

 

”Surprisingly, yeah,” they said. They seemed pleasantly surprised by the fact. “I got Les, and my bro gets to play the part of my bro.”

 

”Hey, that’s a good part,” Hunk said, happy for his friend.

 

“Plus, I don’t have any singing solos, so...” they said with a shrug.

 

”Why’d you even audition in the first place?” Keith was slightly upset. He felt slightly like Pidge were “abandoning them.”

 

”Dunno thought it would be fun,” Pudge shrugged. “Plus my mom kinda forced Matt and me to ‘try new things, and ‘expand our interests.’” Just then, their phone buzzed.

 

”Who is it?” Hunk questioned.

 

”Lance, he wants to know where we are,” Pidge responded. Keith audibly groaned. Most people thought Keith hated Lance, but the truth was Keith had a giant crush on the boy. He usually put on a mask to hide his feelings.

 

The annoying thing was, Keith had to see him all the time. Not only was he always the lead in literally every show that Keith crewed, (which was every show) but they were also in the same friend group.

 

”I’ll tell him to come over here,” Pidge said as they texted him back.

 

A few minutes later, Lance showed up with Allura. He had the same confident smirk as always, but today it had a special glow to it.

 

”Guess who just got the role of Jack Kelly,” Lance said excitedly.

 

”Literally no one is surprised you got the part, Lance,” Pidge said with a sigh. “You always get the lead.”

 

”That doesn’t change the fact that it’s awesome,” he said.

 

“Wow, congratulations Allura. It’s so cool that you got the female lead,” Allura said sarcastically, feeling left out.

 

For the rest of lunch, they discussed the show as well as a little bit of school drama. When lunch was over, they all went back to class.

 

**Later, at rehearsal**

 

The cast filed into the auditorium after school. The first rehearsal was a read through. There was no need for the crew in the first few rehearsals, so it was only the cast. As they came onto the stage and sat down on the stage floor, the director, Mr. Smythe (but everyone just called him Coran), handed them their scripts.

 

”It’s kind of weird being on this side of the theater,” Pidge remarked. Pidge and their brother, Matt, usually did lights or something like that, so they were usually behind the audience.

 

The cast began to read. Lance was brilliant as always. Pidge was also a really good actor. Their sass lent well to Les’s character. And Matt and Pidge, of course, had perfect brotherly chemistry, probably because they were already siblings. Lotor, no matter how much Lance hated to admit it, was really good at acting. It probably helped that his character was just as evil as he was, and he was a manipulative bitch, but he was good. Allura was also brilliant.

 

After the rehearsal, Lance headed home feeling accomplished.

 

**Keith’s house**

 

Keith headed upstairs to his bedroom and set his backpack on his bed just like he did every day. He flopped on his bed and started on his homework.

 

Then Shiro opened the door to check on his little brother. Keith’s parents had died when he was pretty young, so he lived with his adoptive brother Shiro and his husband Curtis.

 

”Hey, how was school kid?” Shiro asked.

 

”It was fine,” Keith distracted responded.

 

”Well, what happened?” Shiro asked.

 

”The cast list came out,” Keith responded.

 

”Cool, remind me what the show is this year?” Shiro asked, continuing to pry. Keith finally turned his full attention to Shiro since it was clear he wasn’t going away.

 

”Newsies, Lance got the lead again,” Keith responded.

 

”How come you never audition for the shows. I think you could have a lot of fun if you were actually on stage,” Shiro said.

 

”Shiro, you already know the answer to that. I feel more comfortable backstage,” Keith said. It’s not that Keith wouldn’t be good, but he never felt comfortable with performing. He could never do what Lance does, go onstage in front of all those people, and sing and dance. He didn’t think so. That was just another reason he respected Lance so much.

 

”That’s right. Well, just let me know if you need anything,” Shiro said as he went back downstairs.

 

”Ok,” Keith responded. He was relieved to drop the subject. Keith was comfortable in the shadows, and he was happy that it could stay that way.


	2. I heard you singing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I’m back y’all. there’s a small time skip in this chapter of a few weeks so that to crew has started coming to rehearsals now. Hope you enjoy.

Keith headed from his last period class to the theater. This was only the fourth rehearsal that the crew was showing up for, and Keith was already getting sick of the music. He was pretty sure he could sing the entire thing without a script already. Sure, he would do a lot of it wrong, but he could do it nonetheless.

 

He wandered into the theater and wandered backstage. Last rehearsal they had left off at the beginning of Seize the Day. The song started out slow, but it picked up soon and everyone on stage was dancing. The entire stage was alive with moving bodies. It showed joy, hope, and confidence. Then was the fight scene.

 

The Newsies were going on strike and were filled with confidence. Then the police come. The newsies are beaten and devastated. Crutchie is taken to the refuge after being beaten by his own crutch. It was devastating.

 

After the fight scene was a set change. Keith came on stage and moved the wood scaffolding hold Lance, or "Jack Kelly". Keith went backstage, and Lance began to sing.

 

The song was Santa Fe. Lances voice was filled with emotion. It was heartbreaking, it was beautiful, it was amazing. Lance has taken Keith’s breath away. He was beautiful, his voice was beautiful. Keith was absolutely hopeless.

 

**After rehearsal**

 

Keith walked down to the parking lot by the football field. There he waited for Shiro to come to pick him up.

 

Keith: we’re done, I’m at the parking lot by the football field. Keith texted

 

Keith could drive, but he didn’t have a car so he had to get Shiro to pick him up.

 

Shiro: ok, on my way. Be there in about 10 min. Shiro texted back.

 

Keith began to hum Santa Fe. He couldn’t get it out of his head. He couldn’t get him out of his head. While he hummed, he pictured Lance’s perfect face singing with his perfect voice and perfect emotion.

 

Keith glanced around to make sure he was alone, then opened his mouth and began to sing. He sang softly at first, but soon became lost in the music and started singing full-out. He reached the big note near the end, and he actually hit it.

 

He finished the song and heard a slow clap from behind him. _Shit_ , Keith thought. He thought he was alone. He was NOT comfortable singing in front of people.

 

That slow clap soon turned into one-person applause. Keith turned around. There was Lance, leaned against the bleachers, applauding for Keith’s singing.

 

 _Double_ - _shit_ , Keith thought. Perfect Lance had heard him sing. Not only that, he heard him sing the song that Lance had just perfected only an hour before.

 

”Wow mullet, I didn’t know you could sing,” Lance said. “That was really good.”

 

Keith was frozen. His face was on fire and his through had closed up as soon as he saw Lance.

 

”You’re wasting your talents in the crew. You should be onstage,” Lance said.

 

”I-I can’t,” Keith managed to choke out.

 

”Whatever you say, but you should audition for the next show,” Lance said. He patted Keith in the shoulder and wandered into the parking lot to the car he, presumably, owned.

 

Shiro pulled up a few minutes later. He asked Keith what was wrong and why he was so pale. He responded with one word.

 

”Lance.”

 

”Aah, I see,” Shiro responded with a nod. Keith had not been able to hide his crush, no matter how hard he tried. When Shiro came to interrogate him about it, Keith had to tell him.

 

Keith was hopelessly in love, and he couldn’t hide that forever.

 

**The next day**

 

Lance wandered on campus. He was a few minutes early, so he wasn’t worried about being late. As he wandered the near empty hall of Garrison High School, he thought of Keith from the day before. Why didn’t he audition? He was really good. He could probably give Lance a run for his money. Maybe he could ask him about it at lunch. The bell rang and he headed to the first period.

 

**Later, at lunch**

 

Lance began to walk towards the lunch court, then remembered his friends preferred to eat at the bleachers. He headed over to the football field. James and his team were tossing around a football and messing around. Lance spotted Pidge, Hunk, and Keith in the upper corner of the bleachers. Lance climbed up the stairs and through the sea of benches to meet them.

 

”Hey guys,” Lance said. Everyone turned towards him and Keith’s face was bright red when he saw who it was. Lance guessed it was because of yesterday.

 

”Sup Lance,” Pidge said, and he gave them a fist bump. Lance turned to Keith and was about to speak, but Keith beat him to it.

 

”About yesterday. Can you just pretend that never happened? I’m not really that comfortable with performing,” he said. He seemed really embarrassed about it but Lance couldn’t see why. He was really good.

 

”Sure, I guess can do that for now,” Lance said. He would keep it between them for now but Lance really wanted Keith to break out of his shell a bit. The theater program could honestly use a guy like him.

 

**End of last period**

 

Lance began to pack up his things as the bell rang. He was on the second floor of the school, so he would have to go down the stairs to get to the parking lot. That usually isn’t a problem.

 

As he wandered down the hall to the stairway, he caught a glimpse of unmistakable white hair disappeared around the corner. _I thought Lotor’s last class was in the 400 building, not the 500,_ Lance thought, perplexed. He quickly dismissed the thought as he continued towards the stairs.

 

Right before he stepped onto the first step, he tripped on something he hadn’t seen. He tumbled down the stairs at a slightly alarming pace. When he landed at the foot of the stairs all the breath was knocked out of him. After a moment, he felt a wave of pain. His left leg was in agony and was set at an awkward angle. Then, out the corner of his eye, he saw Lotor run over, who was just conveniently right around the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. Comment if you liked it or if you have any critiques. I am open to constructive criticism because it probably isn’t that good. Hope you all have a great day!


	3. Keith can do it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should say, I have never broken my leg before so I may have gotten something wrong. Please tell me if I do.  
> This is one of the chapters I've been most excited to write. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Lance sat in the doctor's office on one of the temporary wheelchairs they give out to people who have broken legs. He waited for the doctor to come back and examine his leg. He had fallen down the stairs at school and injured himself only about a half hour before. His leg was in extreme pain, which had only just barely begun to fade, and he was bruised all over. He sat with his mother as the doctor entered the room.

 

"Hi Lance," she said. "Let me see that leg of yours."

 

**School the next day**

 

Keith walked the familiar path to the football bleachers to meet his friends at lunch. He was wearing earbuds blasting My Chemical Romance to try and drown out the sound of his worried thoughts. He had not seen Lance in any of the classes he had with him. Lance never missed school. He had near perfect attendance every year since as long as Keith could remember. It worried Keith deeply that Lance wasn't here. When he got to the football field, he spotted his friends in the bleachers and climbed up the steps to greet them.

 

"Hey, have any of you seen Lance today? he wasn't in any of the classes we share," Keith asked as he settled onto a seat by his friends.

 

"No. I was just asking Pidge the same question," Hunk said, gesturing towards the said friend.

 

"He must just be sick or something," Pidge said through a mouthful of sandwich.

 

"Yeah, that must be it," Keith said. "Do we have rehearsal today?"

 

"Nah. A bunch of people said they were gonna miss so Coran just canceled," Pidge said casually. Keith nodded in response.

 

"Wait really? Frick, I need to text my mom to pick me up earlier," Hunk said, pulling out his phone.

 

"Why don't you just curse Hunk? Like it's not that hard to just say fuck," Pidge said, baffled by their friend's level of wholesomeness.

 

"Hey, no cursing on my good Christian Minecraft server," Keith said. The three of them erupted into laughter.

 

**The next day**

 

Lance limped through the halls, using his crutches as support since his left leg was utterly useless, especially in the movement restricting cast. As he passed people by his got several odd glances and many apologetic looks. He hobbled over to his first period, getting there a bit later than he usually did. Just before he walked into class, he caught a glimpse of Lotor who had a triumphant smirk on his face as if he had just won something only he knew about. The looked unsettled Lance just a bit.

 

When he entered the class, all eyes were on him. Some looked apologetic, some looked confused, some even looked jealous. The point is, everyone was looking at him. When he got to his seat a few of the people next to him asked what happened. Some seemed a bit disappointed when he said he just fell down some stairs, having expected a more exciting story. But it was the truth, and Lance wasn't gonna go around lying just to get a reaction.

 

As the minutes ticked by, Lance started to dread the end of the day more and more. he dreaded what he would have to do. After school, Lance would have to go to rehearsal and give up on of his dream roles.

 

**After school at rehearsal**

 

Keith walked with Pidge over to rehearsal. All of the cast and crew were buzzing with worry and confusion after Lance came to school in a leg cast. Lance was the lead of a show that heavily relied on dance. How was he going to do the part? Could he do the part? But they didn't have an understudy. Keith and Pidge discussed some of this as they walked to the theater.

 

They each took a seat next to Hunk. A few minutes later, Lance limped in on his crutches. Once everyone was there, Coran came on stage and took roll. After that, he began to address the elephant in the room.

 

"As you all have probably noticed, Mr. McLain has had an accident resulting in an injury. Because of this, we have a bit of a predicament on our hand. We do not have an understudy for the part, so we are forced to either re-do Jack's choreography or have someone from the ensemble volunteer to take the role."

 

"I would happily fill in the roll in Lance's stead," Lotor said, raising his hand.

 

"That is very generous of you Lotor, but we need you to do Pulitzer's part," Coran said. "If you were to take Lance's place, then who would take yours? Would any of the ensemble like to volunteer for the role?" All the ensemble cast members looked down, hoping not to be asked to do the part. "Really? No one wants the lead role?" Coran asked in disbelief.

 

"Well, it's just that none of us know the part. Besides, the show is in like, two and a half weeks. It would be a lot to take on a role that big in such a short time," said Rolo, one of the boys playing the newsies.

 

"Well, I guess then we'll be forced to-" Coran began, but then Lance cut him off.

 

"Wait!" Lance said, gaining the attention of the cast. "Keith could do it." Keith stared at Lance in shock. He couldn't do that! standing up in front of all those people.

 

"Keith!?" Lotor scoffed. "He's merely a stagehand."

 

"A stagehand who can sing. Seriously, you should have heard him the other day," Lance defended. Keith's face turned bright red, partially from embarrassment, partially because his crush just complimented his singing.

 

"You're sure he can do the part," Coran verified.

 

"Positive," Lance said.

 

"And you would be comfortable doing the part," Coran asked, turning towards Keith.

 

"I... uh..." Keith wanted to say no, but then he turned and saw the desperate look on Lance's face. How could he say no to that? "Y-yeah, I guess I could do that," Keith mumbled. A huge grin spread across Lance's face.

 

"Alright, that settles it. Lance, I'd like you to work with Keith on Jack's part. Make sure he has everything down by opening night," Coran ordered. "Alright, now besides those two, everyone on stage. We're starting from the top."

 

At the end of rehearsal, Lance and Keith had done a full read-through of the script, Keith doing Jack and Lance doing everyone else, and had started on the harmonies. When Coran dismissed everyone, Lance and Keith walked out together and planned on meeting up.

 

"How about I go home with you after rehearsal tomorrow?" Lance suggested.

 

"Uh, how about your house?" Keith said, not wanting his crush to see his messy ass room. "Why the fuck did I agree to this," Keith added, more to himself than to Lance.

 

"Oh come on, you deserve this. You're really good," Lance said.

 

"You only heard me sing once, and I didn't think anyone was listening. I can't do this in front of everyone," Keith said. He sighed. They sat in silence for a moment. "You really think I can do this?" Keith asked.

 

"Positive," Lance said with a grin. When Shiro's car pulled up, Keith got in and told his brother about his eventful rehearsal.

 

"That's so cool!" Shiro said excitedly. "It's about time you shared your talents."

 

Keith sighed.  _Remind me why the fuck I'm doing this_ , Keith thought.


	4. And So It Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I meant to write a chapter last week, but I just had a serious case of writer's block. This chapter turned out better than I thought it would, so I hope you enjoy.

When Keith got home after rehearsal that day, he went straight to his room as always. Today, however, instead of starting his homework, he took out his new script and began reading through his part. The further he went in the script, the more panicked he became. _I can't do this,_ he thought. _There are so many lines_. As if he could sense Keith's turmoil, Shiro came in to check on his brother.

 

"You sure you're all good Keith?" He asked, peeking his head through the door. "You seem upset."

 

"It's just this whole play thing," Keith said, gesturing towards his script. "There is no way in hell I am going to be able to remember all these lines."

 

"Hey, it'll be fine," Shiro said, sitting next to his brother on his bed. "Besides, isn't the Lance kid gonna help you with it?"

 

"Oh, don't remind me," Keith said, holding his face in his hands.

 

"Hey, what's wrong with that? Isn't it nice that your gonna have help?" Shiro said confused.

 

"Well, yeah. It's nice to have help. But that means I have to spend time  _alone_ with  _Lance_ ," Keith said, lifting his face to look at Shiro.

 

"And that's bad because..."

 

"Because I've had a crush on the guy for two years!" Keith said.

 

"Aaaah, yes. I forgot about that. When teenagers like a person, they want to spend less time with them. Now it makes perfect sense," Shiro said sarcastically.

 

"Oh, shut up," Keith said, punching his brother in his non-prosthetic arm. Shiro let out a short laugh.

 

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need any help," Shiro said, standing up.

 

"Thanks," Keith said, picking up his script once more.

 

**Rehearsal the next day**

 

"Alright everyone, settle down," Coran said as the last few actors and crew entered the auditorium. "So, today is our first rehearsal with Keith as Jack. Keith, do you want to try working on one of your scenes or do you want a little more time to familiarize yourself with the script?"

 

"Um, could I wait till tomorrow?" he asked timidly.

 

"Of course. Ok, everyone places for the top of act two. Lance, could you go to the back and work on Jack with Keith?" Coran said, addressing the whole cast before turning to Lance.

 

"Sure thing, come on mullet," Lance said, gesturing for Keith to follow him. He limped on his crutches to the back of the auditorium, Keith in tow. "So, did you look at the script at all last night?"

 

"Um, yeah. I honestly have no idea how I'll remember all these lines," he said.

 

"It'll be fine. Besides, I bet you already know more than you think you do just from watching the show so many times," Lance said. "You want to work on scenes or music first?"

 

"I think we should start with scenes," Keith said, flipping to the beginning of the script.

 

"Ok. So you can read Jack's lines and I'll read for everyone else," Lance said, doing the same thing.

 

They began reading through the script. Keith started off very stiff reading his lines, not quite comfortable with it yet, but the further they got in the script, the more natural Keith's reading became. Every once in a while, Lance would give him tips on how to project or how to look and sound natural when saying your lines. by the end of rehearsal, they had read through the entire script, excluding the scenes that Jack as not featured in, one and a half times. When Coran dismissed them they had just finished going through act one for the second time.

 

"So, you're coming over to my place, right?" Lance asked. Keith began to blush. He had almost forgotten that he would be going to Lance's house to practice today.

 

"Y-yeah. Let me just text my brother and make sure he knows," Keith said.

 

"Sure thing," Lance said.

 

Keith: I'm going to Lance's house to practice today so I'll text you when you can come pick me up

 

Shiro: Ok. You two have fun ; )

 

Keith: SHUT UP

 

"You ready?" Lance asked, startling Keith by how close he was.

 

"Yeah, so you are getting picked up or what?" Keith asked.

 

"I usually walk. I live pretty close," he said.

 

"Oh, ok. Are you sure that's a good idea with your leg and everything?" Keith asked.

 

"It's fine, I can deal with it," Lance said with a shrug.

 

"Ok," Keith said, slightly wearily.

 

**After the walk**

 

Keith and Lance walked up to Lance's door. His house wasn't anything special, but it was definitely bigger than Keith's place. Lance took a key out of his pocket and opened the door. Almost immediately they were tacked by two little gremlins. They looked a lot like Lance, with the dark skin and brown hair, but they looked to be only about 8 years old.

 

"¡Fuera de mí, pequeños demonios!" Lance yelled as he was almost tacked to the ground by what Keith assumed to be his siblings. Then an older girl came running out and picked up the two trouble makers. She had short, wavy, brown hair and black glasses that framed two pretty blue eyes.

 

"Marco, Maria, what did I say about tackling your brother!" she scolded the two gremlins in her armed. They just giggled to each other.

 

"Thank you, Veronica," Lance said, collecting himself. "Hey, could you keep the twins out of my room for a few hours. Keith and I need to practice for the show." Veronica looked up, noticing Keith for the first time.

 

"Oooh, you've never brought a  _boy_ home before," she said with a cheeky smirk on her face. Keith's face went bright red, which Veronica definitely noticed.

 

"Oh, shut up," Lance said as he led Keith inside. They passed through the living room and went up a flight of stairs to get to a small hallway. Lance's room was behind a door with a small chalkboard with "do not disturb" written on it. Lance opened the door to reveal a reasonably large room with a twin bed, several posters for bands or musicals that Keith didn't know very well, and a messy desk in the corner. The floor was also littered with papers, dirty laundry, and books.

 

"Sorry for the mess, I don't usually have company," Lance said as he stepped into the room. They both carefully stepped around the clutter littering the floor. Lance expertly danced around the obstacles. Keith, unfortunately, was not as familiar with the terrain and tripped over an outstretched charging cord, falling right on top of Lance. He starting blushing profusely for about the fifth time today at his and Lances compromising position. He was completely frozen in embarrassment. "Um, could you maybe get off me," Lance asked awkwardly.

 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Keith said, immediately getting off of Lance, face still burning.

 

"It's fine, dude. Happens to the best of us," Lance said, chuckling as Keith helped him up. He winced a bit when he had to put his weight on his hurt leg. The two made their way to Lance's bed and began reading through the script.

 

They tried to do a few scenes off-book. Whenever Keith messed up a word or forgot his line, he would get frustrated and they would try starting the scene over.

 

"Ugh, I can't do this," Keith said as they failed to complete the rally scene for the fifth time.

 

"Hey, don't beat yourself up so much. You're doing fine," Lance said, placing a comforting hand on Keith's back. "Here's some advice, don't think about the words."

 

"But... isn't that the whole point?" Keith said, confused.

 

"Well, yeah, that's part of it. But what's more important than the words is the message. Instead of thinking about the words, try thinking about what this line is trying to convey. If you get a few words wrong, who cares, the audience doesn't know the script. What's important is that you tell the story," Lance explained.

 

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Keith said, looking Lance in the eyes. God, he had beautiful eyes. "Thank's Lance."

 

"No problem," he said. "You want to take a break on lines and start working on music?" Lance asked.

 

"Yeah, I think that sounds good," Keith said.

 

A while later, Keith heard his phone buzz.

 

"I better see who it is," he said as lance paused the music.

 

Shiro: Hey, it's been a few hours. Should I pick you up soon?

 

Keith checked the time. _5:50_ _PM_.  _Wow, have I really already been here for 2 1/2 hours_ , Keith thought.

 

Keith: sure. how bout you pick me up at 6:00

 

Shiro: Sounds good. Can you send me the address?

 

Keith sent Lance's address and went back to talk to Lance.

 

"So my brother's gonna come pick me up in about 10 minutes, so should we keep working or do you wanna just hang for a little while?" Keith asked.

 

"Well, I guess that should be up to you, do you feel comfortable with your stuff?" Lance asked.

 

"I think so. Why don't we just hang out for a little while?" Keith said. So the talked. Keith learned a little bit about Lance's family and a whole lot about some of the musicals he liked. Lance got Keith to open up a little about how he lived with his adoptive brother because his parents died when he was a kid. Soon enough, Shiro came knocking on the door and Keith had to go home.

 

"So, how did it go?" Shiro asked.

 

"I think it went really well," Keith said with a soft smile. He surprised himself by thinking that he was really looking forward to the next rehearsal. Maybe he could do this after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that one. I tried to use this chapter as basically building the chemistry between Keith and Lance. Please tell me if I got the Spanish part wrong. I do not know Spanish so I literally just put it into google translate. It's supposed to say "Get off me, you little devils!" If you liked it please leave kudos and comments, they make my day. Also, if you have any constructive criticism then I really appreciate that as well. Hope you have a great day.


	5. Dress week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I meant to update last week, but I just sort of didn't. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter.

It had been a little over a week since Keith took on the role of Jack Kelly in Garrison High's Newsies. He had managed to get off book and had been more active in rehearsals because of it. He had even gotten most of the choreography down, surprising Lance and his other friends at how good a dance he was. He had been spending a lot more time with Lance because of the role and had come to be quite a bit more comfortable around his crush, which surprised some of his friends when they were joking around so much at lunch.

 

Keith was surprised at how much fun he was having as a performer. Once he got over some of the anxiety of performing in front of people, he found that he actually felt quite comfortable on the stage. Today was the first dress rehearsal, so they would try to run through the show from start to finish and clean everything up as they went along. He walked over to the theater like he had been doing every day after school for the past week. When he got there, all of his castmates were trying on their costumes and getting their mics on if they had a principal role. Keith put on his costume for the first time and looking in the mirror. It actually looked pretty nice on him. He wore a blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. On top of that, he wore a slightly faded black vest. His pants were a tannish grey and he wore short, brown ankle boots with laces. His long, black hair was tied up in a short ponytail under the iconic Newsie hat.

 

"Looking pretty good Jack," Lance said from behind Keith, slightly startling him.

 

"What are you even doing in the dressing room, it's not like you have something to change into," Keith said, slightly confused at Lance's presence. Lance's face fell a bit at the reminder that he had lost the chance to play one of his dream roles. Keith felt slightly guilty and tried to say something, but before he could the student stage manager, Romelle, came by calling for the mic check. Keith left Lance with an apologetic look and went to the soundcheck.

 

**Later in rehearsal**

 

Lance stood backstage as he watched his friends perform the end of "Seize the Day" and the transition into the fight scene. The rehearsal had been going well so far. There had been a few mistakes on the actor's part and a few technical difficulties with Matt's mic (stupid high school budget) but it seemed the show was finally coming together.

 

As the fight scene ended, Crutchie (Nyma) was pulled off stage and Keith stood on the scaffolding set-piece as the being notes of "Santa Fe" played. Keith began the song and Lance was completely memorized by his performance. Lance knew he was a good singer, but he hadn't seen him perform the song full out. His performance on the song was extremely passionate and emotional. Keith's interpretation of the song and the character was different from Lance's. While Lance sang the song with a sad longing, Keith's performance was more raw and passionate. He was angry at what had happened and how he had been treated rather than longing for an escape. Keith finished the song and Lance was snapped out of his trance when Coran called for them to take five and the rest of the cast responded with "thank you five."

 

Keith went backstage to meet with Lance. There was sweat dripping from his face and his bangs were plastered to his forehead. He was breathing slightly heavier than usual and his chest heaved up and down. Lance's eye drifted to Keith's lips for  _no reason in particular_. They were slightly parted and a bit wet.  _It is getting hot in here? I feel like it's getting hot in here_ , Lance thought.

 

Keith snapped his fingers in front of Lance's face, snapping him out of his trance. "Hello, Earth to Lance. You in there?" Keith said.

 

"That was awesome Keith!" Lance said with a wide grin on his face.

 

"Eh, my voice cracked in the middle and I need to work on my choreography more," Keith responded as he wiped his brow.

 

"Are you kidding me, you did great! Besides, it's just rehearsal. We still have a week to work on that. Keith shared one of his rare smiles with Lance at the comment.

 

"Keith, may I speak to you for a moment," Coran said, walking up to the pair. "Lance, if you could join us."

 

"Sure thing," Keith said, following Coran. They sat down at the desk Cora has set up in front of the seats in the auditorium.

 

"First of all, might I commend you for taking this role on such short notice. And you have risen to the challenge," Coran said.

 

"Oh, uh, thanks," Keith responded slightly awkwardly. He was never very good at accepting compliments.

 

"Anyways, I had a few notes. Nothing big. First of all..." Coran began to read from a small notebook and Keith took mental notes on the things he still had to work on. Lance also took note of things that he could help Keith out with. "I also wanted to ask you about something. In the second act, are you comfortable with the kiss scene before 'Something to Believe In?'"

 

Keith's face paled. He had been dreading that scene ever since he read it in the script. "I... um... well," Keith stuttered, physically unable to utter out a single word.

 

"If you are uncomfortable with it, we can make accommodations," Coran said. There was a moment of silence before Keith finally responded.

 

"I think I might be able to do it, just not today, if that's okay," Keith said, looking down.

 

"Alright," Coran said, slightly wearily. He dismissed to two of them and went to talk to Pidge and Matt. Keith went over to where he left his bag to get a sip of water before they started act two. On the way, he past Lotor who had done nothing but glare daggers at him since the role of Jack had been forced upon him. Today, however, it seemed Lotor was feeling bold and he walked over to talk to Keith.

 

"That was quite the performance you gave there. I guess Lance was right to tell Coran to cast you in the role," Lotor said, venom dripping from every word.

 

"What do you want Lotor?" Keith said.

 

"Whaaat, I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance," Lotor responded with a clearly fake grin. "You know, it's quite amazing you got the role despite your complete lack of training in the performing arts."

 

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a natural," Keith said, knowing full well that this would just infuriate Lotor further. Lotor's fake smile turned into a grimace which made Keith smile.

 

"You have no right to have this role," Lotor said, completely cutting the nice act and getting to the point."Most of the people in this cast would die to have this role, they were just too scared to take it. Well, I'm not scared."

 

"What, you trying to scare me or something?" Keith asked, honestly slightly amused by how angry Lotor was getting over this.  _It's just a high school play_ , he thought.  _Chill_. Lotor leaned in and whispered into Keith's ear.

 

"The only reason you even got this part was because of me." After that cryptic statement, Coran called for places and Lotor left, leaving Keith to contemplate what the fuck he meant. Keith got the role because Lance couldn't do the part. How did Lance breaking his leg have anything to do with Lotor. Then it dawned on him and he felt a white fury bubble up inside of him. He injured Lance, broke his legs, something that would take weeks if not months to recover from, for a fucking role in a fucking high school play. How freaking petty was he? He even had a really good part already, why did he need to be Jack.

 

When Keith went on stage for the next scene his hatred for Pulitzer was more real than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that didn't end how I thought it would. Honestly, even I don't really know where I'm going with this. I know what I'll do for the next chapter, but after that, I have no idea. If you have any thoughts, please tell me in the comments. Any feedback you have is really appreciated. Hope you enjoyed and that you're having a great day.


	6. The Kiss Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I haven't had much free time to write because I was in tech week for a show I'm in and I also had a severe case of procrastination. But I finally got to writing this, and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I feel like the characters are kind of really OOC and I'm not super crazy about how it turned out, but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Keith didn't talk to Lotor much more in that rehearsal expect in the scenes where Jack confronts Pulitzer. He still couldn't believe Lotor would do something like that. I mean, sure, he is Lotor, but still. Who cares that much about a stupid high school play? As Keith mulled over these thoughts, he almost missed his cue for the next scene he was in. This next scene was the scene right before "Something to Believe In." This was the scene where he was supposed to kiss Allura. He still hadn't been able to get the courage to do it in any of the other rehearsals, and Coran had said that if he could do it by the day before final dress, they would just have to cut it. Keith was beginning to think that would be a really good idea.

 

"If I were a boy you would be seeing through a black eye right now," Allura said, raising her fist to show it.

 

"Well don't let that stop you, give me your best shot," Keith recited his line with the thick New York accent he had been working on for that past two weeks. After a few moments, Allura went in for the kiss, but Keith shied away.

 

"CUT!" Coran said, standing from his desk. "Come on Keith, we open in four days. You sure you don't want to just cut the kiss now because at this rate it doesn't seem like you'll be comfortable with it in time."

 

"No, no. I'll be fine," Keith insisted, a slight blush on his pale cheeks. He knew he didn't want to do it, but it felt necessary. The scene would be really weird without the kiss.

 

"Alright," Coran sighed, "let's just take it from the top of the song."

 

Keith finished the run-through and changed out of his costume.  _Why is this stupid kiss thing messing with me so much_ , Keith thought to himself. He knew the answer. He had never kissed anyone before, and he wanted it to be special. He would never tell anyone this, but Keith was a bit of a hopeless romantic. He was completely hopeless at romance.

 

"Hey Keith, you ready?" Lance said from behind him. He and Lance had continued to work outside of school, despite the fact that Keith had pretty much got the role down. The real reason they still met up was that they just liked hanging out. They found that they really enjoyed each other's company. Keith and Lance began the walk to Lance's house. Keith still preferred to meet at Lance's house rather than his own. There was something about Lance coming into his bedroom that just made him feel uncomfortable.

 

They reached Lance's house and Lance simply rung the doorbell, knowing that his sister would be home by this point. They traveled the familiar path to Lance's bedroom and sat down on his bed. They pulled out their script and proceeded to completely ignore them and opted to talk to each other instead. Keith contemplated bringing up what Lotor had said to him earlier, but he didn't get the chance as Lance began t speak before he could.

 

"So, I noticed you were having a lot of trouble with the kiss scene," Lance said. Keith's face reddened a tiny bit before he responded.

 

"Yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious," Keith responded. "I just don't really feel super comfortable kissing someone I don't have feelings for."

 

"You could always just have Coran cut it," Lance responded.

 

"No, I feel like it's necessary for the story to progress naturally," Keith responded. Lance smiled like he was proud of Keith. Then an idea popped in a Lance's and a bright grin crossed his face. "W-what is it?" Keith asked slightly apprehensively.

 

"I mean, I could always help you practice," Lance said. Keith's face became bright red.  _What's that supposed to mean, did he just say I could kiss him?_ Keith's thoughts flashed through his head a mile a minute as he tried to process what Lance had just said to him.

 

"W-what," Keith barely managed to wheeze out.

 

"No, I mean like, uh... how do I say this?" Lance quickly added, realizing what it sounded like. "Uh... there are a few other ways you could do a stage kiss that doesn't actually involve kissing."

 

"O-oh," Keith stuttered, face bright red. Part of him felt relieved, the other part of him was slightly disappointed. "Wait, how can you kiss someone without actually kissing them?" Keith asked, confused.

 

"Well, the whole point is to make it look like you kissing them without actually kissing them. I know three different ways of doing a stage kiss. Mind if I show you?" Lance explained.

 

"Uh, no, that shouldn't be a problem," Keith said. He thought they were close enough at this point that it wouldn't get too weird. What could go wrong?

 

"So, the first way I'll show you involves the least contact. This one doesn't look as good as some other ways and is hard to pull off well, but it can work," Lance began. It seemed like he'd done this a lot, he sure knew quite a bit about it. Lance continued. "Basically, one person has their back to the audience. That’d be you in this case. Let’s say that door is downstage. Then you lean in and move your heads from side to side while your faces are a few inches apart." Lance leaned in a bit so as to demonstrate, but paused to say "do you mind?" before Keith nodded and he continued.

 

Keith stiffened as Lance got closer, but Lance stopped about two inches from Keith's face, close enough so that their noses were practically touching. Lance was incredibly close and Keith felt very uncomfortable. As Lance backed away, Keith felt himself breathing heavily.  _Lance almost just kissed me!_ Keith panicked.

 

"The only thing with that is that the audience is at different angles, so if they're far enough to the side they can see that you're not actually kissing. You think you got it?" Lance said once he backed away. Keith nodded. He didn't think he could respond in words if he tried. "Ok, let's move on to the next one. This one is kind of hard to explain, so it might be easier if I just show you. Do you mind?" Lance said as he reached slightly towards Keith's face. Keith began to blush again, not that he had really stopped yet.

 

"Uh, no, I don't," Keith responded shyly. He was honestly kind of surprised that he could actually get the words out. Lance cupped his hands around Keith's face, placing both his thumbs carefully on Keith's lips. He leaned in and kissed his own thumbs. Keith's face was burning up. While there was still a barrier between Lance's lips and his own, Lance's face was still right on top of Keith's. There was barely anything that made this any different from a normal kiss.  _Oh my god! What am I doing_ _?_ Keith continued to internally scream ay himself. When Lance backed away, Keith tried (and failed) to steady his breathing. When he looked at Lance, he could see that Lance's own chest seemed to be heaving a bit.

 

"Then, of course, you could always just do a normal kiss," Lance said after a few moments of them both catching their breath.

 

"Right," Keith said. He was going to leave it at that, but then he felt an unexplainable surge of confidence and he decided to act on it. "Do you want to maybe show me that one too?"

 

Lance looked at Keith, surprised. His face became a bright pink as he looked at Keith with wide eyes. "I-i... uh... s-sure, I gue-"

 

Lance's stuttering was cut off as Keith pushed his lips onto Lance's. Keith held Lance's face as Lance began to run his fingers through Keith's raven hair. they both closed their eyes as they passionately smooshed their faces together. After what felt like both an eternity and also no time at all, they slowly pulled apart. For a moment or two, they simply stared dreamily into each other's eyes before they heard a voice from the doorway.

 

"Well, it's about time!" both Lance and Keith turned immediately to the doorway to see who it was, an embarrassed blush covering their faces. They saw Lance's older sister Veronica leaning against the doorframe with a cheeky grin on her face.

 

"Shit! I thought I closed my door," Lance said in a slightly panicked voice. "How much did you see?"

 

"Me? Why I didn't see a  thing," Veronica said with the fakest face of innocence that Keith had ever seen. She then slowly walked out of the doorframe and down the hall as she said, "Now if you'll excuse me I had some business to attend to"

 

"You get back here Veronica! How much did you see?!" Lance shouted as he ran out of the room after his sister. Keith stayed on the bed and contemplated what had just happened.  _I just kissed Lance... HOLY SHIT,_ I _JUST_ KISSED LANCE! He grabbed his phone and quickly texted Shiro to come to pick him up.

 

Keith: shiro can you pick me up

Keith: like NOW

 

Shiro: Why? What happened?

 

Keith: i'll explain in the car just come as soon as you can

 

When Lance came back with a pouty face, Keith explained that his brother would be coming to pick him up soon and that he should get his stuff. Lance looked slightly disappointed but agreed. Soon Shiro was their and Keith and Lance said goodbye.

 

"So, what happened, why did you want me to pick you up early," Shiro asked, worry evident in his voice.

 

"I, uh... I kissed Lance," Keith muttered quietly.

 

"What, I didn't catch that," Shiro said, keeping his eyes on the road.

 

"I KISSED LANCE," Keith shouted, startling Shiro once with the volume, then a second time once he processed what his brother had just said. Shiro slammed his foot on the break.

 

"You WHAT?!" Shiro exclaimed excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was very heavily inspired by a work called Disguises by ramonaspeaks that I read a while ago. If you are in the phandom, then I suggest you read that work as it is really good. Also, I don't know much about stage kisses, so all of the information about them in this chapter is solely from what I remember in the other story I read. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have any thoughts or feedback, please tell me in the comment. I hope you all have a great day.


	7. Opening Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is confused as to why Keith keeps avoiding him. Did he do something wrong? Hopefully, they can work things out before opening night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. I had no idea what I was gonna do with it, so I just put it off a lot. I hope you enjoy the chapter. This should be the final chapter unless I decide to do an epilogue later, which is unlikely.

**Morning, three days before opening**

 

Keith had gotten to school early that morning. There were not many students on campus because classes didn't start until about an hour later. He wandered over to the football field to think about what had happened the afternoon prior. He and Lance had  _kissed_. He still couldn't really believe it. On the drive home, Shiro had attempted to interrogate Keith about it, but he was still trying to process what had happened. When they got home, Curtis, Shiro's husband, attempted to do the same, but Keith just wet straight (HA) to his room.

 

When the first bell rang a while later, Keith started his way to his first class. In the hallway, he saw Lance from the corner of his eye, trying to push his way through the herds of students to talk to him. Keith pointedly ignored him and started walking faster. The whole day he ignored Lance, even deciding to eat lunch in the library rather than with his friends. He wasn't ready to talk to him yet. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Lance, or that he didn't want to be with Lance in that way, quite, the opposite in fact. It was just that he was scared. Scared of how this could change their relationship.

 

Even after school, at rehearsal, Keith managed to evade talking to lance (It was the first rehearsal that he managed to go through with the kiss scene. He ended up going with the second method Lanc had shown him the other day, where he put his thumbs between their lips). After rehearsal, he went straight out to the parking lot, leaving before Lance got a chance to speak to him. As he sat silently on the drive home, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He picked it up and say a string of messages from Lance.

 

8:30 AM

 

Lance: Hey, could I talk to you later, maybe at lunch

 

1:00

 

Lance: Are you ok Keith, i didn't see you at lunch

Lance: Where were you

 

2:30

 

Lance: Is everything ok, it seemed like you were avoiding me

Lance: Did I do something wrong

 

Keith turned off his phone, ignoring the messages. Maybe he would talk to Lance tomorrow... or maybe not.

 

**Two days before opening night**

 

The next school day came and went and Keith had still not talked to Lance. Lances fear that Keith was mad at him only grew the more he saw Keith pass, only for him to keep walking, almost as if he didn't even see Lance. During rehearsal, he tried to catch Keith's eye backstage, but to no avail. He did notice Keith giving Lotor death glares, and not just on stage, but he didn't question it since he knew Keith hated Lotor.

 

Once Coran dismissed rehearsal, Lance limped towards Keith, attempting to catch up. Just before Keith left the theater, Lance grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him.

 

"Keith, wait up." Keith only looked back at Lance. However, he couldn't quite read the raven-haired boy's expression. "I wanted to ask you why you've been ignoring me." Keith looked down in slight shame. "Di-did I do something? Did I maybe overstep a boundary or someth-"

 

"No," Keith cut him off. "No, you didn't do anything." Lace waited for Keith to continue, but when he didn't, Lance continued.

 

"Then why are you mad at me?"

 

"I'm not mad at you, I'm just..." he trailed off, seeming to be looking for the right words.

 

"Just what?"

 

"Just, scared, confused, I don't know. I don't want to mess anything up

 

"What do mean mess it up? What could you mess up with?"

 

"I don't know, I've never really done this before. I don't want to get hurt, I don't want to hurt you, I don't-" Keith's voice got caught in his throat for a second as his eyes started to become shiny with tears. "I don't want to lose you."

 

Lance gently brushed the bangs from Keith's cheek and cupped Keith's cheek in his hand. "Keith, it's okay." Keith then took the opportunity to close the now incredibly small distance between the two. He let a few tears drip down his cheek and they gently slipped into Lance's mouth. Only a few cast members and crew members were left in the theater at this point. Most of the ones that were there pretended they didn't see anything and just walked out the door, perhaps thinking about telling their friends later. Some just stopped and stare and shock. Pidge took out their phone and took several pictures, trying to hold back their devious snickering. They were definitely going to show Matt, who was waiting for them outside.

 

After a few seconds, they pulled away with a soft smile on both of their faces. Lance told Keith he would text him later as Keith started to walk towards the parking lot.

 

"What's got you so happy all of a sudden?" Shiro asked as Keith hopped into the car.

 

"None of your business," Keith responded with a grin as they started the drive home.

 

**One day before opening night**

 

"Alright, everyone! we open tomorrow night, so let's focus up!" Coran said, settling down the room of acters as it buzzed with both excited and nervous energy. "Before we begin, I would just like to take a moment to recognize the great work you all have put into this show, particularly Mr. Kogane who took this beast of a role last minute and rose to the challenge wonderfully." There was a soft round of applause and Keith's face brightened a soft shade of pink, still not being used to being the center of attention. He got a soft nudge in the side and a bright smile from his boyfriend (he and Lance were now officially dating). The only one not smiling was Lotor, who gave Keith a deadly glare.

 

"All right, all right! No time to dilly dally! Everyone, get changed into mics and costumes and we'll run the show from the top!" Coran announced, and everyone either headed backstage towards the dressing rooms or up towards the sound booth. Keith grabbed his mic before heading to the dressing rooms. When he was all in costume he headed to the stage for mic check, then back towards the green room to wait for places.

 

"You ready for opening night?" Lance asked as he limped his way into the green room.

 

"I sure as hell hope so," Keith responded.

 

"You'll do fine, you're really good at this."

 

"Five 'til greenroom, 15 'til places!" Romelle announced as she passed in the hallway.

 

"Thank you," all the cast members around replied.

 

**Opening night**

 

Keith paced backstage as he waited for the house to fill for their first performance. Sure he had done run through the show plenty of times before, but never with an audience. They had had time to run through a few of the big numbers before the house opened, but they did not have enough time for a full run-through before the show. Lance placed a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder as they waited backstage. Keith looked towards his boyfriend and a bit of his nervousness faded away, just a bit. Before he knew it the lights in the house dimmed and the audience quieted down as Coran walked on stage to say a few words before the performance. Keith couldn't understand what he was saying, though. His head still spinning from the nerves. As Coran finished his little intro, the overture music began to play and Keith climbed up the Set scaffolding for the beginning number.

 

Lance watched from backstage as Keith performed. He could see Keith's anxiousness through the slight stiffness of the lines, but he could tell that the longer he was on stage, the more relaxed and natural he became. Keith seemed surprisingly comfortable on stage, especially considering how much he was terrified of performing just a few weeks ago. Lance watched as "Santa Fe (prologue)" finished and "Carrying the Banner" began and the stage just became alive, bursting with the energy of the performers. As he watched, he remembered why he fell in love with theater in the first place. He was almost glad that he lost the part just so he could witness the show for himself, live. The performers could all purchase the recording of the show, but it was never as special as seeing it live.

 

Lance relaxed in his fold-up chair backstage as he just sat back and enjoyed the performance.

 

**After the performance**

 

Keith rushed offstage, feeling the full rush of opening light. The lights, the applause, all the energy of the performance. He went into the dressing room, very sweaty, with a huge smile on his face. He changed into his regular clothes as fast as he could and was the first to turn in his mic. (Hunk grimaced as he took the sweaty mic pack from his friend).

 

He got out into the lobby of the theater and was immediately attacked by a huge hug from his brother.

 

"Keith you were amazing!" Shiro said. "I mean, I've heard you sing the shower, but this?!"

 

"Shirooo, get off me!" Keith said in an annoyed tone, but he was still grinning like an idiot. Shiro finally let go, only for Keith to be taken into another hug, this time fro Curtis.

 

"That was awesome Keith!" Curtis said. Keith just resigned himself to the fact that he would not stop getting hugged tonight.

 

"Keith get over here!" Lance said as he waddled over to his boyfriend as fast as he could on his crutches. Keith started to wander over to him once Curtis had freed him from his hug. Once they were close enough, Lance attacked Keith with a kiss. Once they parted, Lance wasted no time in complimenting his boyfriend's performance. "You were amazing Keith!"

 

"Yeah, so I've heard," Keith responded sarcastically.

 

"Shut up, you were great," Lance responded, gently nudging Keith with his elbow. Keith looked around the room caught a glimpse of Lotor making his way into the lobby.

 

"I'll be right back, there's just something I need to do first," Keith said. Lance had a slightly confused look but nodded all the same. Keith made his way towards Lotor. "Hey, Lotor," he said, grabbing the boy's attention. Once he got close enough he proceeded to punch him in the face.

 

"What the f-" Lotor was cut off Keith.

 

"How could you do that to Lance?" Keith spat. "It's just a fucking high school show."

 

"I don't know what you're talking about."

 

"Don't fucking lie to me, I know what you did."

 

"Keith, what are you-" Lance said as he approached Keith carefully.

 

"Not now Lance," Keith said I a slightly more gentle tone.

 

Lotor sneered at Keith and Lance. "He's gotten the lead role every year he's been here, don't you think someone else should get a chance for once?"

 

"Dude, it's just a dumb high school play, that's no excuse to fucking break someone's legs." Lance's eye's widened.  _I just fell down the stairs, that can't be Lotor's fault_ , Lance thought. But then he thought back to the day it happened. He didn't remember seeing anything he could have tripped on, and it was a little suspicious that Lotor was there exactly when Lance needed someone. Come to think of it, that was the only time he had seen Lotor in that part of the campus at the end of the day.

 

"What the fuck Lotor?" Lance said as the realization dawned on him.

 

"Of course you and your stupid fucking boyfriend had to ruin my senior show." Keith grimaced in rage. Lance could tell he was about to murder Lotor so he tried to diffuse the situation.

 

"He's not worth it Keith, let's just go," he said, putting his hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith took a deep breath and walked away.

 

Keith and Lance walked towards the parking lot, Shiro and Curtis walking a few steps behind. they talked about the show and meeting up with the cast later at a local diner.

 

"I guess next year I'll have a little competition for the leading man, huh," Lance said jokingly as they walked up to Shiro's car.

 

"Yeah, you better watch your back McLain," Keith responded in a jokingly threatening tone. Lance laughed at that. They gave each other a quick kiss goodnight and Keith got in the car to drive home. He had a soft smile on his lips the whole way there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done! As always, if you have any comments, criticism, or feedback, feel free to leave it in the comments. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This chapter was a little bit longer than the others because I wanted to fit everything in one last chapter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have a great rest of your day.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but I thought that was a good place to stop it. I’ve done a lot of theater, so some of my experiences and/or frustrations might leak into here. I hope you enjoyed it. I really appriciate and any comments or feedback you have, so please leave kudos and comments. Have a great day!


End file.
